


A Sweet Treats Delivery Service

by mandykaysfic



Series: 40 fandoms in 40 days 2018 [1]
Category: St Clare's - Enid Blyton
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-22 22:17:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13773699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandykaysfic/pseuds/mandykaysfic
Summary: Alma finds a way to get more of the sweet treats she craves.





	A Sweet Treats Delivery Service

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Set during 'Fifth Formers of St Clare's' by Enid Blyton  
> 2\. Inspired by an FB poll that stated: Come up with a character from children’s literature and let us know “what fast food or take away s/he would eat today and why. Sushi KFC salad bar selection McDonald's pizza ice cream tub bottle of alcohol etc etc. Hence there may be more in this series.  
> 3\. Written for lj's 40 fandoms in 40 days.

Alma stared at the meagre tea Pauline had set out on the table. Only six cakes, and the plainest sort sold by the baker at that, to go with the bread and butter supplied by the kitchen. What good was sharing a study when one was forced to go hungry? She quickly piled four of the cakes on to her plate. Ignoring Pauline's glare, she gobbled them done and reached for the bread and butter. When it was Alma's turn to supply the cakes, jam roly poly was always on the menu. Thankfully, Pauline seemed content with two small slices and Alma was guaranteed the rest for herself.

Fruit buns, lemon tarts and biscuits of all sorts featured regularly, along with the ubiquitous bread and butter, when Alma was in charge, but no matter how much she ate, she was always hungry. At night she dreamed of sweets and chocolates, piled in bowls in every room at school, there for the taking whenever one craved something sweet, and whenever a bowl was emptied, Emily the kitchen maid appeared to fill it up again. If only her dreams were real.

The thing about study teas that Alma most disliked was the trip to town to buy the delicious cakes and pies. Too fat to run, she would tell the others when the asked her to make a four at tennis, Alma nowadays found walking to the front gates of St Clare's left her breathless. It was also difficult to find a companion who would walk at the slow pace she preferred. The girls were not supposed to go to town alone, but when they were all busy rushing around at the sports they loved so much, Alma would sneak into town alone, knowing she wouldn't be missed.

If only a bus ran between the school and the town, Alma could catch it and then she wouldn't puff and pant and end up gasping for breath before she reached the half way point of the journey. She paused to mop her face with her handkerchief. 

"Look out!" 

Tim, the baker's young delivery boy, barely missed Alma as he pedalled furiously up the hill. 

She staggered back and glared at him as he passed her.

"Didn't you hear my bell?" he called, looking back over his shoulder. The front wheel of his bike hit a rock and Tim flew over the handle bars. He picked himself up, and ignoring his bleeding knees, hurried to examine the bread he was delivering to Mrs Jenkins. The loaves had fallen out of the basket and lay on the road. He brushed off the dirt and breathed a sigh of relief. She would never know they'd had a narrow escape from ending up as crumbs. 

"You could have run me over," declared Alma. "I shall tell the baker how careless you've been." Perhaps he will give me a cake or some buns, to make up for the dreadful fright I've had. The pounding of her heart eased a little as she began to plan her story.

"Please, miss, don't tell him. He'll take away my job and I'm saving up for a new bike."

Alma didn't care about a new bike if she could get some extra cake, and was about to tell Tim it was too bad and she simply had to report him when an even better idea popped in to her head. "How often do you deliver around here?" 

"Every Wednesday and Saturday. Mrs Turley has three white loaves on Wednesday and two on Saturday. Mrs Jenkins, she has--"

"Yes, well, I don't need to know all the details. In exchange for not reporting your misdeeds to the baker, you shall now make a delivery to St Clare's."

Quickly, Alma outlined her plan. Beginning Saturday, Tim would make a delivery to St Clare's, leaving the current order in a box she would place behind the sports pavilion. The best time for him to do this unobserved would be while the girls were at tea. In the box would be the next order and money. She would still have to go to town today to get supplies, but she'd never need to make the long trek to town again, nor risk getting into trouble for being out alone, and she'd have a regular supply of the sweet things she craved.

Opening her purse, she counted half of her pocket money into Tim's hand and gave him her first order. Six currant buns, a jam sponge and some chocolates from the corner store with the change, less sixpence for his delivery fee.

Business-like, they shook hands on the deal, and a relieved Tim rode off to deliver Mrs Jenkins' bread, while Anna continued to town to buy whatever she could with her remaining money. There was almost a spring in her heavy, clumping steps as she congratulated herself on her marvellous sweet treats delivery idea.


End file.
